Review: Fragmented & I Dare The Sky @ London Miles

London Miles’ latest exhibition in Ladbroke Grove presents Stella Im Hultberg and Scott Belcastro, with their respective collections Fragmented and I Dare The Sky.

Rendered largely in ink, acrylic and colour pencils on paper and wood, Stella Im Hultberg’s paintings of the female form exude an otherworldly sensuality. Faces fade into the darkness in Rainy Day, Dream Away and In Waking Dreams, evoking those fragmented moments in between sleep and waking. The subjects' gazes are sometimes averted, sometimes directed beyond the viewer. Dark swathes of finely rendered hair in works like Strangely Transparent envelope the face, hinting at turbulent depths.

Scott Belcastro’s paintings are similarly evocative, contrasting crisp animal silhouettes against vast skies and landscapes of varying shades and intensity. In Occupying the Playground at Night, birds wheel across a stormy blue-green sky, suggesting silence and loneliness. Works such as Umbriel and Hallway transport the viewer back to nature, at once peaceful and isolated.

Both artists have a strong sense of negative space and attention to detail, resulting in paintings that allow the viewer to enter and lose themselves in them. Indeed, we admit to spending about 10 minutes staring at the hair in Everything Was Beautiful alone.

Fragmented & I Dare The Sky runs at London Miles Gallery (242 Acklam Road, Westbourne Studios, London W105JJ) until 21 March. Closed weekends. Admission is free.